Alternative GAA Season Structure: The McNamee System

[thewobbler]

I honestly cannot see the benefits of the group system myself.

It stinks of the GPA trying to pull the wool over eyes and come across as inclusive to the needs of players in small counties. The reality is that purpose of the elongated season is to allow those players on the semi-pro side of things to concentrate solely on county football for the summer. Which in turn sticks a wretched dagger into the club game across all counties.

I would fear for this system. If the competition structures are to be reinvented in football, then it has to be an improvement, or else the people will in all likelihood vote with their feet.

As there is genuinely no point in giving 3 All-Ireland Championship matches to any of the tier 4 sides, or to the majority of the tier 3 sides, it is an extreme layer of fat that any competition could do without.

[Keyser soze]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

[blewuporstuffed]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

Do you think the structure of the season at club & county level is fine as it is?

[Esmarelda]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

Delete the thread, whoever started it. The Keyser doesn't like it.

[Zulu]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

Utter nonsense. I've spoken to many people in the past few weeks and none of them mentioned the refugee crisis so I suppose that's a bandwagon media driven topic too? Most people are focused on their own lives and don't generally discuss in great length the bigger issues in life. That's not to say they are not interested in them or don't have views on them but they don't necessarily discuss them every day.However, there is no doubt most GAA folk are not happy with the current competition structures. The level of dissatisfaction may vary and the alternatives would certainly be many but to suggest most are happy with the current situation is laughable. And of course, the usual tactic of accusing those discussing it of being sheep only highlights the poverty of your argument.

[Bingo]

To me, the issue isn't the structure as such but more the length of time taken to play the championships and the imbalance of the teams routes to it.

This GPA version goes a step too far in the number of games and will dilute the championship feel to it. It would still see the same teams giving the same other teams the same hidings if they met.

I'd look at tweaking their system a bit. Play the League as is, play the championships as is and then play the championship as an open 32 team knockout, first drawn at home and let the best team win it. Would be big hype from the start with potential clash's of the big guns at the start, tricky away ties before it settles down for the quarter finals at Croke park.

Might devalue the provincials somewhat but aren't they going that way anyway. May give the lesser counties a realistic target to build for.

[macdanger2]

I think this proposal moves us closer to having something like the rugby model where you have a (greatly diminished) club season running separately in parallel with the county season and players generally only play in one or the other unless they're coming back from injury. Not something I would be in favour of

[Keyser soze]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

Utter nonsense. I've spoken to many people in the past few weeks and none of them mentioned the refugee crisis so I suppose that's a bandwagon media driven topic too? Most people are focused on their own lives and don't generally discuss in great length the bigger issues in life. That's not to say they are not interested in them or don't have views on them but they don't necessarily discuss them every day.However, there is no doubt most GAA folk are not happy with the current competition structures. The level of dissatisfaction may vary and the alternatives would certainly be many but to suggest most are happy with the current situation is laughable. And of course, the usual tactic of accusing those discussing it of being sheep only highlights the poverty of your argument.

You introduced a strawman argument about refugees. Like WTF!!

Then made a couple of statements without a single shred of evidence to back them up. What evidence is there that 'most GAA folk are not happy with the current situation'??

I never mentioned sheep but if the cap fits....

[shark]

I think this proposal moves us closer to having something like the rugby model where you have a (greatly diminished) club season running separately in parallel with the county season and players generally only play in one or the other unless they're coming back from injury. Not something I would be in favour of

Me neither. It just wouldn't work. I'm from a "so called weaker county", with hardly any history of success. Just like so many other counties. My club generally have 3-5 lads on the county senior panel. As committed as they are to their county's cause, if they were told they couldn't play club then they would simply no longer play county. You would see this replicated in about 20/32 counties, and even more if we are talking about hurling too.

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

I'd be worried that the round robin stage could be a bit of a damp squib with their seeded nature and 24 out of 32 teams progressing but overall I would be in favour of the GPA proposal. It is a fair and cohesive system which definitely is preferable in comparison with the current shambles.

[Jell 0 Biafra]

Two questions for any proposed new system:

1. What is the problem (are the problems) with the existing system?
2. How does the proposal address this problem (or these problems)?

This year much of the discussion as to the need for a new system has focused on the one-sided nature of many of the games.  A champions' league type structure would do nothing to fix that, and as others have noted, would actually increase the number of meaningless games.

I wouldn't be against change, but not unless compelling answers are forthcoming to the two questions above.

[sid waddell]

The proposed format is a considerable disimprovement on the current system, in my view.

[BennyHarp]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

Utter nonsense. I've spoken to many people in the past few weeks and none of them mentioned the refugee crisis so I suppose that's a bandwagon media driven topic too? Most people are focused on their own lives and don't generally discuss in great length the bigger issues in life. That's not to say they are not interested in them or don't have views on them but they don't necessarily discuss them every day.However, there is no doubt most GAA folk are not happy with the current competition structures. The level of dissatisfaction may vary and the alternatives would certainly be many but to suggest most are happy with the current situation is laughable. And of course, the usual tactic of accusing those discussing it of being sheep only highlights the poverty of your argument.

You introduced a strawman argument about refugees. Like WTF!!

Then made a couple of statements without a single shred of evidence to back them up. What evidence is there that 'most GAA folk are not happy with the current situation'??

I never mentioned sheep but if the cap fits....

I'd say this gaaboard is fairly reflective of a cross section of GAA folk and there are very few people that I have read on here who think the current championship structure is fine as it is. However, your evidence that you haven't spoken about it with your mates is much more compelling.

[Kuwabatake Sanjuro]

Two questions for any proposed new system:

1. What is the problem (are the problems) with the existing system?
2. How does the proposal address this problem (or these problems)?

This year much of the discussion as to the need for a new system has focused on the one-sided nature of many of the games.  A champions' league type structure would do nothing to fix that, and as others have noted, would actually increase the number of meaningless games.

I wouldn't be against change, but not unless compelling answers are forthcoming to the two questions above.

The main problems currently are: Relatively meaningless league, unfair provincial structures and poor fixture structuring, pointless January football especially with fixture pile ups due to college football.

The GPA proposal deals with these issues with the exception of college football taking up players supposed off season.

Hammerings can only be avoided if the GAA does something to close the resource gap. The improved GPA structure should allow the GAA to increase revenue which can be put into counties other than Dublin and Kerry which might help.

[Rodman]

Here we go again. I read an article on this yesterday and was awaiting the usual suspects getting all revved up on here.

It mentioned that there is a groundswell of opinion supporting a re-organisation of the AI championship and that it is a hot topic of discussion among players, supporters and administrators.

Well this topic has never come up in any GAA discussions I have had and I spend a considerable amount of time talking GAA to various people. Other than a few bandwaggoners on here parrotting stuff from a few newspaper columnists and interviews with people who want their name in print this is a non-subject. Don't suppose that will stop multiple thread on here though.

Utter nonsense. I've spoken to many people in the past few weeks and none of them mentioned the refugee crisis so I suppose that's a bandwagon media driven topic too? Most people are focused on their own lives and don't generally discuss in great length the bigger issues in life. That's not to say they are not interested in them or don't have views on them but they don't necessarily discuss them every day.However, there is no doubt most GAA folk are not happy with the current competition structures. The level of dissatisfaction may vary and the alternatives would certainly be many but to suggest most are happy with the current situation is laughable. And of course, the usual tactic of accusing those discussing it of being sheep only highlights the poverty of your argument.

You introduced a strawman argument about refugees. Like WTF!!

Then made a couple of statements without a single shred of evidence to back them up. What evidence is there that 'most GAA folk are not happy with the current situation'??

I never mentioned sheep but if the cap fits....

So you think the current structure is okay??